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• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 5/9/2009 9:09 PM UTC

  Grants Being Denied for Worthwhile Causes
  

  
  

  Getting started with government grant writing can be a little intimidating. Sometimes grant proposal writers have difficulty with knowing exactly what to write.  One of the benefits with applying for government funds is that the Request for Proposal tends to require specific information.  Because the requested information from the government is specific, it is easier to submit clear and appropriate responses.

  However there are other reasons that well drafted grant proposals may still be denied.  One of the more common reasons is the amount of money that an organization has handled.  Many grassroots organizations apply for and receive their 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status, thinking that this is sufficient to qualify for significant sums of government grants.  However, if you have only handled 5,000, you will not be trusted with $100,000.  The budgetary concerns are not the same for both amounts.  Research demonstrates that giving organizations considerably more government funds than they can handle sets them up for failure.

  At the same time there have been acceptable solutions convincing the government to allow organizations to be awarded larger amounts than they have handled.  One of the more common solutions is partnering with another non-profit organization that has a record for successfully managing large sums of money.  Of course there are pros and cons to participating in such a partnership.

  The most important lesson here is that insufficient experience with handling the amount of funds being requested may prevent an organization from getting a grant.  It does not matter how well planned and sound the rest of the proposal may be.

  
  
  • Tags:
  • grants
  • grantwriting
  • non-profit
  • grassroots organizat
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